The role of schools and school education in maximizing public access to culture

The committee adopted the own-initiative report by Vasco GRAÇA MOURA (EPP-ED, P) on the role of schools and public education in maximising access to culture. The report made a number of recommendations to Member States, such as increasing investment in education and ensuring that pupils have the opportunity of learning two languages other than their own. It also criticised the tendency for history lessons to focus exclusively on 20th century events. Another suggestion was that the Commission should develop material on the history of European culture which, if approved by the Council, could be available to all Member States who wished to use it in their education systems. In the context of enlargement, MEPs also pointed out that there was a need to raise awareness within the EU Member States of the history and culture of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and vice versa. Lastly, the committee stressed that music, fine arts and theatre were a fundamental component of Europe's cultural heritage and should be given a higher priority in school education.�